Ball Four by Jim Bouton

I love sports books and one of my all time favorites is Ball Four by Jim Bouton. This was the first book by an athlete that took you behind the scenes to see what baseball was really like. Up until Ball Four was published most sports biographies were all nice, flattering tales of great athletes having a wholesome time on the ball field. Jim Bouton, a pitcher in his declining years with the NY Yankees, blew the lid off the paradigm. He talked about the fights, the drinking, the racial bigotry, and how the players really felt about making personal appearances - they hated meeting fans. He also tells a great story of his struggles to stay in the big leagues as he resorts to a knuckle-ball when his fastball starts to elude him.